Good morning. It has been a bit wet for the last couple of days so here are some more recent sightings. I will start with a couple of photos that have been taken recently on the reserve:
Reed bunting:
Cuckoo:
Grey heron:
Image credits: Tim James
Bog bean:
Garlic mustard:
Image credit: David White
Thank you very much to Tim for sharing these pictures with us.
There were several freshly emerged emperor moths on the riverbank on Sunday. There were at least 29 hobbys over Joist Fen and a bittern was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint. Several common blue damselflies were also on the wing.
As the day went on, our first spotted flycatcher of the year was seen at the far end of the reserve. There was also an intriguing report of a singing wood warbler in Brandon Fen. Sadly, it could not be relocated which is a shame as it would have been a first for the reserve.
I walked around Brandon Fen before work on Monday and heard the nightingale singing by Wilton Bridge. There was also a garden warbler singing in the same area.
Sadly, the weather put pay to the variety of sightings on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, a couple of four spotted chasers were seen emerging from the pond bed outside the visitor centre. Look out for Katherine’s blog post about this over the weekend.
Suzanne and I did our Common Bird Census (CBC) around Brandon Fen this morning. Simon and Pete were also ringing in the same area. The nightingalewas singing by Wilton Bridge at 5am but by the time Suzanne and I got up there at around 6.50am it had already stopped singing. Simon and Pete saw a single crane fly over heading north east. Suzanne and I heard a garganey calling near the ramp up onto the riverbank in Brandon Fen. Apparently, we all missed a greenshank on the washland which was a shame.
There has already been a bit of drama this morning as Katherine was based up at the Washland viewpoint for this morning’s bittern survey. She asked me to take a cup of tea up to her mid-morning. I duly did at 09.45 and while I was in transit, Suzanne came running up behind me and there was clearly something happening on the washland. When I got up there, a black tern was perched up but what didn’t I have? My binoculars! Typical! Fortunately, a kind gentleman let me look through his telescope so I did see it.
The excitement didn’t end there. Katherine phoned again saying that there were now three black terns on the washland! I did nip up there, this time with my binoculars so I did get to see them gracefully hawking over the large washland pool.
Just before I go, I just have space to tell you that another one of the cows in Brandon Fen has given birth this morning. When Suzanne and I walked around the grazing marsh, we couldn’t see it. However, it couldn’t have been much more than an hour old so we weren’t too surprised that mum was keeping it hidden!
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!